Der Schwarzen Adler
by Lavenian
Summary: Still reeling from Mandark's death, Bell and her father undergo a tumultuous moment in their relationship. To help her ease out of the memory of that moment, he sends her on another mission to find a rather special child. He never would have imagined how special he was and was going to be, especially to her.
1. Act 1

The cold chill of winter, the high altitude with lack of oxygen, the monochromatic colors of snow and stone, attributes of the cold snow-capped range of the Himalayas. No ordinary human could survive without the right equipment, but no ordinary person had come to this place. Streaking across the flurried sky in engulfed in white light, Bell was falling down from the sky in a daze and crashed into the snow, the impact scattering the ice and melting part of the permafrost into hot boiling water.

"Ooooh… what happened?"

Bell scrambled up the crater she formed, clutching her belly which was somehow throbbing in pain. Standing over the hole, Bell was overcome by the sensation of aches and pain all over, as though she was doing strenuous exercise, but her memory was a little hazy.

"How did I get here, ow, why do I hurt all over?" without any warning another explosion blasted the ground some thirty paces away from her. Bell stumbled on her butt looking wide-eyed at the source of the explosion, still in shock about her previous unexpected development.

A figure, obscured by smoke at first but becoming more distinctive the closer he approached, walked towards her, with every step refreshing her mind of the events that led to this predicament, "Oh, now I remember…"

Ten hours ago…

It was dark, which was just the way she liked it. Bell had just received a spanking, a very painful spanking at that, from her own father, for throwing one of her ferocious superhuman tantrums. She left to sulk in her room, angry over her father for Susan's death. He knew he would die; she convinced herself that she and Susan were getting close and Dr. X thought it wasn't good for his plans. Tears slid down her face, her dad never wanted her to make friends, even though GIR was a close companion, she wanted her own clique of friends to give her a sense of belonging.

The door opened to shed a little light in. A tall, looming figure with three sets of three glowing eyes, he pulled out a chair and sat next to the edge of Bell's bed. He gently stroked his little girl's hair, a simple gesture of reassurance that he had not come to cause her more harm. In spite of his fearsome appearance, he was nevertheless a good father to his one and only child.

"Bell, sweetheart?" he nudged her curled-up body in a futile attempt to get her out of her slump, but she wasn't going to let it go.

"I don't want to talk to you dad," she said with punctuated sobs. Although they knew each other only recently, Bell and Susan had developed a strong bond. Her father only understood Susan's value in his intellect and creativity but not the social comfort he provided for his lonesome daughter.

Her father sighed in exasperation, "Bell, you know this was bound to happen, it comes with the territory of being a supervillain."

Bell jumped up and threw her pillow at his face with such force he was actually thrown back against the door, "I don't care! You should've let me save him!" She flailed her arms wildly and shouted incomprehensible words out of her mouth before unfurling into a sullen, sobbing heap on her sheets.

Her father pinched on his face again sighing in exasperation, "Bell, I'm sorry that Susan died, and I realize I've been a bit insensitive about the issue." A bit was really stretching it, Bell thought.

"I've decided that maybe a nice hot family dinner will settle any dispute between us, what do you say?"

Bell sighed, there was no other way out of it, she just wanted to be left alone, but she figured it was better to get it over with, since it was clear her Dad wasn't going to let up on her until she got over Susan.

Eight hours ago…

"So Bell, how was your macaroni soup?" he asked from across the dining table, but Bell wasn't even eating, she was just swishing her soup aimlessly.

Dr. X wiped his arms on some alcohol cloths as he finished, "Bell, I'm here to help you, always, you are my daughter, and I know how much Susan meant to you, but he made his choice, it's what he wanted."

Bell dropped her spoon and sighed, "I… I just don't understand, Dad. I just want a friend."

Her father motioned to her pet robot, "What about GIR?"

She plopped her pet dog, dubbed "Girly," on her lap, swaying him lovingly in her arms, "Girly is fine dad, but… I want a friend, but not the kind I go to malls and watch movies or throw parties with…"

"And what kind of friend is that, Bell?"

She stared into space without any real answer, "I… don't' know."

"Very well then, perhaps you'd be interested if I told you I brought you here to discuss that matter."

Bell looked perplexed, "Huh?"

Dr. X flashed out a remote control and handled it to bring up a holographic monitor with a three-dimensional image of the Earth on it, with a tiny red blip flashing on a certain spot on Nepal.

"Before he died, Susan had left me with a decrypted data log containing a special location I've held considerable interest in. It was essentially composed of over a thousand bits of data encrypted over a hundred times to ensure security, when I first learned of its existence of course, I was naturally curious. He was the only one smart enough and patient enough to crack the code."

Bell was picking her ear, not really interested in what he was talking about.

Dr. X quickly got the hint, "To cut a long story short, I've found something hidden somewhere in the Himalayas that may provide me with the edge we need to overcome the Powerpuff Girls."

The screen changed to show a detailed diagram with various physiological charts and numbers framed around a mug-shot of a boy with jet-black hair and, most distinctively, his moon-white skin.

Bell looked at his picture and felt something stir in her, his appearance accentuated a sort of notion of ghostly loneliness about him. She felt like reaching out to his image for some indiscernible reason.

Her father noticed she was staring into space at his image, "Bell, honey, focus."

She shook off her distracted thinking when her dad called out to her. "Anyway, Bell, all I ask is that you get your head back in the game for this next mission: I want you to find this boy, and I want you to bring him here."

Bell raised a curious brow, "Why, daddy?"

Dr. X brought his fingers to hunching over the table. "Bell, these people who own this boy are, shall we say, a dangerous sort. They think they fight for a noble cause, but they will do anything, even kidnapping and brainwash, to get what they want. Those who commit evil for the sake of good are far more dangerous than those who commit evil for the sake of it."

"So, they'll get in your way if they keep him and you want me to bring him over to us, right?"

"You get the idea; I knew I could depend on you, sweetie."

Five hours ago…

Charging down in a streak of pearl-white light, Bell was on her way towards a spot at the Himalayas near where the pinpoint was located. To disguise her movement she traveled next to a decommissioned satellite that happened to burn into the atmosphere and was in a position to crash right where Bell just so happened to be.

"Bell, do you read me?"

"Yes, Dad, I'm here. I'm scorching up here."

"Relax, dear, it'll cool off in a little bit. Anyway, the location will be approximately 5 klicks west from your estimated landing point."

"Got it, Dad. So, what's this place look like?"

"I don't know Bell, they've probably hidden it very well, so keep your eyes peeled."

Bell broke away from the satellite once she was close enough and departed westward to find the mysterious facility of this enigmatic group.

Bell, however, did not anticipate what she would see next. In fact she could swear she must have gone back in time or something.

"Um… Dad?"

"Yes Bell?"

"Is it possible to go back in time when you fall down to Earth?"

"Well, theoretically, but the speed in which you travelled really shouldn't be enough to do that, why do you ask?"

"I've found a castle."

Nestled in the center of a basin of ice was, very clearly, some kind of medieval European castle, replete with thick stone walls and angled by corner towers that terminated into skyward spires. Bell rubbed her eyes in disbelief, what was a castle doing in the middle of Asia?

Bell glided low near the snow as she neared the unusual fortification, as she neared it, she could see what appeared to be guards, and now she was fairly certain she was both in a different place and back in time. The guards wore chainmail, riveted helmets, and held funky-looking crossbows, flanged maces and battle axes as weapons. Quietly, Bell jumped a massive distance over the armed men and the wall and stood on the roof of a Gothic cruciform building that looked like a cathedral. Solemn music played within the stone halls. Bell approached an opening near the top of the roof and peeked down to see what looked like Mass in session. A huge man standing behind the altar gave a feverous sermon.

"…And like clay I shall mould him and in the fires of battle he will be forged. His body shall be his instrument of conquest, blessed of strength that no blow shall smite him, and fortitude that no disease shall blight him. He will be schooled in the arts of war to defeat the weapons of his enemies and all the disciplines of knowledge to overcome the false truths of the lost and wayward. He shall be the Herald of the Heavenly Hosts, the Angel of Death, the Scourge of the Unclean! Behold, my children, witness the glory of your Messiah!"

The wall behind the man opened to give way to a massive plexiglass tank of amniotic fluid. Encased inside was the young boy that she had seen on her father's screen, naked save for a pair of black trunks and some unusual hand restraints, floating unconsciously inside the fluids inside.

"…Rejoice, brethren, for soon, the Eagle shall soar over the far corners of the Earth and reclaim the Kingdom of Heaven!"

The assembled congregation broke in raucous cheer and swayed their arms feverishly.

Four hours ago…

As soon as it was over, Bell followed the large man through the same opening in the wall, leading down a flight of stairs and into a huge, spherical chamber holding a huge cylinder suspended by what appeared to be anti-gravitic forces that pulsed around the chamber, at least now Bell knew that they weren't as archaic as she initially suspected.

Bell walked a walkway towards an opening into the cylinder, entering to a sight of steps lining up to the top of the cylinder with blocks of transparent material of varying sizes containing various items, from antiquated relics and browned paper Scriptures, to tanks containing unusual specimens of different animals, both native and alien to Earth.

Bell flew up looking for the tank holding the boy. She actually felt a little anxiety regarding looking for him, a personal sense of urgency, she scrambled looking everywhere for him. "Where is he? Where is he?"

Out of the corner of her eye Bell saw the tank holding him; she flew down quickly and examined him carefully. He was, much like the image she saw in the previous screen, exuding the same ghostly aura she saw earlier, except that it felt more intensified and focused than before. Bell grasped the tank in her hands and attempted to lift the tank out of its containment unit, but he was set inside tight.

"Come on, get off this damn thing!"

Bell tugged and pulled with enough strength that she managed to loosen the tank out of its moorings, unfortunately it didn't go as smoothly as she hoped. The alarm sirens blared loudly throughout the entire facility, Bell jolted with a shock at the sudden break in silence. Almost immediately, a group of armed guards, they were wearing medieval armor under synthetic tunics and with bulky machines strapped to their backs. The backpacks, as it turns out, were jetpacks, carrying the knights up towards Bell on wings of fire. With no time to get him out, Bell flew upwards to avoid the incoming attackers, who came upon her armed with broadswords that hummed with a light blue glow.

One of them reached up to her and swung his sword horizontally at her, Bell bent back and dodged the attack, kicking into his gut and hurtling him away towards the wall. Two more charged straight for her from opposite angles, Bell backhanded one and jumped over the other with her legs apart before kicking him downwards. However, the falling warrior crashed into the moorings of the boy's tank, separating from the wall and crashing into pieces on the floor.

"Hey! Watch it!" Bell flailed like a berserker around the guards surrounding her, trying to reach for the boy lying down.

A pair of men wearing beige hooded cloaks and carrying fanny packs with various instruments huddled around the boy, "He's all right, but we can't let him be conscious y-" His sentence was cut short when the boy slammed his head with the force of a speeding train to his gut, propelling the medic into the wall in a massive crash. The other medic was struck on the chin and thrown up into the roof of the cylinder, sending a shockwave that tore through the interior and threw all inside, Bell included, out into the sphere.

Roaring loud like a lion the boy smashed through the cylinder and out of the cylinder.

Bell saw him leave, "Hey, wait!"

The boy smashed into a long, ornate hallway. He started running through the hall with no apparent direction in mind, in fact, there was no mind, just wild instinct directing him where to go next.

"Owie… " Bell flew up after the boy, hoping that these guys wouldn't hurt him; she was worried that he would get killed. Though he appeared strong, he probably won't last long against those guys, Bell had to find him, and quickly.

As soon as she got into the hallway, she found a trail of total mayhem, strewn everywhere were the bodies of various guards lying in crumpled heaps throughout the area, despite the restraints on his arms, he really did some damage. Bell found one guard still conscious. She grabbed him by the collar and interrogated him.

"Where is he? Where is the boy!?"

He pointed weakly towards a hallway that curved over to a passage up ahead that curved to the right. The sound of battle could still be heard even from there. Suddenly, some shuffling footsteps could be heard coming from the other direction.

Guards were coming towards Bell, opening fire with their crossbows, red-hot from internal superheating from their weapons, Bell would have to put off her search for now, she needed to defend herself.

Two hours ago…

The boy rammed through a stained glass window and out into a frozen courtyard. He was suddenly overcome with fatigue and took a knee to catch his breath. He looked up, his first break since he had been awakened, to take in the sight of a square courtyard, at the edges were black, monolithic walls adorned with carved statues of angels; uncharacteristically, the angels were depicted with what appeared to be bionic implants on their heads and bodies, attached to tubes and cables that extended on the walls they were attached on. "Where am I? Who am I?" were questions that flew into his mind, for he had no identity to speak for himself beyond mental interactive simulations on the master's virtual replication device.

Yes, the master, he thought, the large man who gave the feverish sermon earlier. Despite looking as though he were in his early teens, he was as mentally fresh as a newborn, his only taste of the outside world being replicate simulations run by his custodian. The silence of his respite was broken by the rumbling thunder of big footsteps about the courtyard. Ahead a pair of large doors slid upwards and open and from their passages, a pair of big, blocky robots with stubby arms and legs, marched out towards him.

One hour ago…

Bell dashed through the hallway, blasting and punching through scores of guards who stood in her way. Upon coming up to the stained window he punched out from, and looked down in the courtyard below. The boy was being handed his ass by a pair of clumsy-looking automata armed who battered him with a heavy swing of their arms.

Unwilling to watch this fight any further, Bell jumped to his rescue and lunged into one of the machines, dislodging its arm in the process. Bell picked up the discarded object and began hammering the robot into scrap with it. "Hey, are you okay?"

Bell turned to face the boy, but she was greeted with a headbutt to the face and flew towards the second robot. She smashed the back of her head into the machine which crumbled from the force of impact, before it was propelled straight towards the wall and Bell was thrown high into the air. The boy howled and fired a massive arcing ray of laser fire at her, sending Bell hurtling into the sky, his blows leaving her unconscious…

Present…

Bell looked with a bit of apprehension at the boy who had landed next to her, he looked peeved, as though he had woken on the wrong side of the bed and was eager to smash the skulls of those responsible. Bell scuffled up to her legs and assumed a fighting pose to try and intimidate him, "Stay back, I'm warning you!"

He lunged towards her, swinging his head as though it were a flail, Bell extended her leg to kick at his side, but he caught it in his arm and smashed his head at her face, sending Bell recoiling back a bit. She turned around again and hooked her fist to his face, hitting it dead on his cheek, his face contorted to accommodate her hand on it, but he didn't look fazed.

He responded with a knee to her abdomen, causing her to wretch. Having had it, Bell started throwing her fists at him uncontrollably, angry that he had the audacity to strike at her for trying to rescue him. She threw her final punch at his gut with enough force to shatter a hill. The boy winced slightly at the impact, but he didn't back down, throwing his foot back to stop him from being thrown into the ground, and countered with a headbutt of equal force to her face, knocking her back and over her head and landing face-first into the snow.

Bell struggled up but not fast enough to establish some distance before he was just in front of her. The boy huffed and puffed, he retracted his head, ready to headbutt her again, when at that moment, a blue collar wrapped around his neck and shocked him with powerful charges. He collapsed into the snow limp. Bell turned around to see who shot that object at him. To her surprise, it was GIR.

"Live Action!"

Behind him stood Cluster robots and Samantha, the boy was pulled up and into a cryonic tank to transport him back to Black Eden.

"Thanks for saving me Girly, you saved my bacon out here."

In a faux Austrian accent, he replied, "No problemo."

The boy was hauled in through a portal that materialized nearby. Bell followed suit and they were all back in a familiar field of dark flowers which were located near their headquarters. Bell's father walked up to her, "Well done Bell, that went a little bit messier than I would have preferred, but nevertheless, you got what I've been looking for."

"Yeah…" Bell was looking at the tank transporting the mysterious berserker that attacked her. In spite of everything that happened, she was still worried about him.

"Bell, honey, are you all right? You look like you're up in the clouds."

She shook her head, "It… it's nothing, Dad, I'm fine."

"Are you worried about him, Bell?"

"Dad, I don't want you to use him like you used Susan, so I want you to promise me that whatever you have in store for him you let me in on it."

He clutched his face in exasperation, "Bell, if you have any kind of 'relationship' with this guy, I don't know just how useful he's going to be."

"I don't care! I'm not going to let you put my friends in a situation where they'll be killed!"

In the end, Dr. X acquiesced to her demand; he decided to let her take some proactive interaction with the boy, but he was still hesitant to see if they would have some kind of relationship too interpersonal to be of any use to him. He needed a weapon, not another child, Bell was the only one he trusted and favored most of all, and a friend for Bell may break her focus on the tasks he may require of her, not to mention undermine that parent-child trust he was building up with her.

He returned to the isolation chamber where the boy was being held behind a power field to keep him in place.

"You may be my best weapon or my greatest adversary. I wonder which one you'll be?"

The boy slowly woke up from his stupor and looked at Bell's father straight in the eye. He remained quiet the whole time, not willing to engage in casual conversation just yet.

"It looks like I'm going to be taking care of you from now on. Hopefully you won't be a colossal disappointment like Mandark was."

"Biarce"

"Pardon?"

"My name, Biarce."

"Well, Biarce, welcome to Black Eden, we'll be spending some time with each other from now on."


	2. Act 2

In the center of a desolate field Biarce stood still, the air was stale and not another sound could be heard. But in the distance, the faint sound of buzzing began to break the serenity of the silent environs. Within minutes a horde of robotic humanoids flew in towards Biarce, an initial group of the robots with over-sized fists with humming matter-disruption fields, Biarce dashed up towards the nearest drone, pressed his shoulder gently against its frame, and then shifted a few centimeters, causing a shockwave that drilled through the air and scattered the incoming drones apart. The second wave followed with a salvo of micro missiles aimed at his direction. Moving at superhuman speed, he caught the missiles and threw them back at the incoming drones, blasting them into scrap.

A much larger drone, about two stories big, burst from the ground behind Biarce, throwing its own large fist towards him, catching him off-guard. Biarce quickly somersaulted before the swipe could damage him. Before he could retaliate the robot stared at him with glowing eyes, firing off a super-heated laser beam at Biarce. The boy blocked the beam with his bare hands, the scorching beam produced puffy white smoke that burned black marks on him, but otherwise didn't faze him. While keeping him distracted, the giant kicked Biarce with enough force to shove him off his feet and hurtle him towards a dirt mound.

The automaton leaped into the sky and prepared to smash Biarce into the dirt. But just split seconds from impact, Biarce seemingly teleported from out of the way and reappeared with his arm stretched and pierced right into the robot's head, its mechanical body growing limp and eventually falling unmoving towards the ground. Once he pulled out, he casually walked away from the battlefield.

In an enclosed room, X monitored Biarce's skills from a holographic monitor. Biarce was undoubtedly one of the most powerful individuals he has ever encountered, but it was time for the final test.

Later…

Biarce and Bell were both placed on the Spire, the tallest structure ever conceived by Dr. X, a massive tower that extended to at least one-hundred thousand feet into the air and touching the very edge of space.

The two super-powered children posed still in a tense standoff, taking in a short breather before the inevitable confrontation. Bell extended her finger and pointed towards him "So… Biarce, you think I'd be able to handle anything you throw at me?"

He shrugged, "I guess."

"You guess?"

"I still don't know my own strength."

"Wow, they locked you up in that tank a long time."

"It feels weird being able to walk in the real world for once."

"Aww, poor thing, well, we can have lots of fun now, huh?"

"Well, all right, if you say-" Biarce was cut short by a swift punch to the spot between his eyes. He was thrown off the platform and began to plummet back to the ground, Bell jumped off as well, following after him. She was just about to reach him and give a quick jab when he countered with a somersault kick to her chin. He rushed to maintain momentum, but Bell was quick to recover and responded with an elbow block, but Biarce kneed her in the stomach and sent her flying away. He rushed towards her as though a comet with fist outstretched to collide with her.

Bell recovered and caught Biarce's crashing fist in her open palm, releasing a one-inch burst of power to send him flying away. As they fell further below the pillar, the clouds began to grow denser, eventually obscuring both combatants from each other. Occasionally they would, by fortuitous circumstance, spot one another and throw jabs, but they managed to parry each other every time.

Only once they made it past the fall of the opaque clouds did they see each other again clearly, and they both rushed one another for a chance to hit first. It occurred very quickly, and the moment lasted an eternity all while they continued free fall. Biarce struck Bell in the cheek and her face swelled to accommodate his fist, while Bell struck Biarce right in the front of his face, slamming her knuckles into his lips, her hand almost getting sucked into his mouth. The impact from both their attacks was so hard that they knocked themselves out, and continued towards the ground unimpeded.

They had no idea how long they fell, only that they dented a huge crater into the earth that threw dust several feet into the air. They were out cold for what seemed like a while, before they slowly came to from the stillness of their resting place, they turned their heads sideways and saw that they, coincidentally, crashed with their faces only inches from one another. Biarce just stared into Bell's eyes stoic and unflinching, Bell was agape with surprise and a little patch of red began to form on her face. She jumped upright with a startle and huffed quickly and profusely. She slowed down after a couple of breaths, picked herself up, and walked away without another word.

Later…

Biarce was put back in his cell and given a meager meal of mushroom soup and water. It had been two months since his forced internment with the Darkstar Council, for the time of his stay he was forced into simulated battles with virtual simulators and mock battles with Dr. X's experimental war machines and doomsday devices. Life became routine for him, and it was something he could wrap around, since he was held without much change for much of his life before being freed against his will by Bell.

Speak of the devil, the pearl-haired angel walked towards the boundary marking freedom and the interior of Biarce's cell. She looked at him curiously, with a childlike sense of curiousity to her gaze.

She was the first to break the ice, "Hey."

"Hello."

"I'm… sorry about what happened earlier."

"What do you mean?"

"I was all up in your face, and I didn't even say anything after that."

"It's all right."

"Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to apologize, is all. And also, that last match doesn't count."

"What do you mean?"

"Nobody won that last match, so I'm expecting a rematch."

"As you want," Biarce's aloof personality miffed Bell a little, she was hoping to garner a little more out of him and maybe make a new friend. She was about to speak more when a large, orange hand landed on her shoulder.

"Bell, what are you doing?" It was her father.

"Daddy, I… I was just…"

He pointed away back to the main hall, "Go play elsewhere, Bell, I have business to attend to."

"Oh come on, Daddy, can I just have a few more minutes of talk?"

"No."

With a huff, Bell walked away, but not before giving her dad the old raspberry.

"You're a little harsh on your daughter."

"I love her dearly, but she's at that age when I need to reaffirm myself. But enough about her, Biarce, your abilities have fascinated me for some time, so I've come with a proposition for you."

"May I ask what that is?"

"There is a certain place, a place I want you to go to because it's of special interest to me."

"You're being vague," Biarce responded matter-of-factly.

"There is a place in the Atlantic Ocean, under the Ocean, that has drawn the interest of the group that held you previously."

"Go on."

"I want to release you and go to that place and, in a word, tell me all about it, and them."

"And who are them?"

"I figured you would know, since they raised you, so to speak."

"All I have is memories of battles I've never fought, knowledge I've never gleaned from books or classrooms, I know nothing of who made me or why."

"Well they must have had a very special reason for making you what with the layers upon layers of secrecy they built around you. Don't you want to learn more about yourself?"

Biarce never really gave it any serious thought; he never found any reason to, in fact. He was content to simply not know anything about himself at all. "No, I don't."

"Very well, I'll take my leave for now, but I ask that you give thought to reconsider, maybe not in the immediate future, but I will remain adamant about this."

Biarce was alone again, with no sound other than the faint humming of the energy barrier keeping him in place. Biarce was quite a few things, but he certainly wasn't curious. It's not that he was afraid of whatever clandestine purpose his creation intended to serve, he just wanted to live a life he defined for himself, and he didn't want to let his own origin hamper his desire for that.

Later that night, as Biarce was fast asleep on his less-than-comfortable prison bed, but he didn't sleep soundly, but not from the rock hard bed, but by strange dreams that came upon him every night. Always he saw himself flying an endless sky in the form of a sleek black eagle; he carried about like business as usual. Without warning a strange bright light like the sun engulfed him and he felt himself hurtling towards a bottomless abyss below. Beckoning him from above was the light, dimming to show a shimmering eagle of gold, much larger than himself, talons spread open and ready to grip onto him and tear away at his body.

Biarce awoke with a start. The lucid dream drawing sweat from his face, this is the first he had seen that dream, and he pondered the meaning behind it.

"Are you okay?" Biarce turned to the sound of the uninvited voice, and behind the barrier was Bell, staring at him cocking her head sideways with a curious look about her. She was wondering what Biarce was going through to break a cold sweat like that.

"What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"Why?"

"What do you mean 'Why? I just wanna be your friend, is all."

"Won't your dad disapprove of that?"

"He's asleep right now, so I can do whatever the hell I want, what he doesn't know won't harm him."

Biarce didn't say anything else, he wasn't much for conversation, this bored Bell, who expected a little more out of him.

"Hey, why the silent treatment? That's no fun at all."

"I'm just respecting your father's requests."

Bell furrowed her brows in disgust, "I don't want you to listen to that man."

"Isn't he your father?"

"He let my friend die."

Again, the silent treatment, Biarce had no experience responding to these types of situations, inside, he felt a little sorry for Bell, who was sitting down with a downtrod expression on her face.

Bell continued speaking, "He knew he wasn't going to make it, which is why I'm not doing anything he tells me to do anymore."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"So anyway, after that, I've just been so lonely. It hasn't been the same ever since Susan had gone."

"I see."

"Hey, Biarce."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think… we can be friends?"

"Why do you think I would care?"

"I dunno, I thought maybe we had something in common, you just seemed kinda lonely yourself. I'm… I'm sorry if I'm wasting your time."

"No, not at all…"

"Really?"

"You're the only person who hasn't treated me like some kind of weapon, so far. So that counts as something."

"Oh, okay. So, we can be friends then?"

"Absolutely."

Bell smiled, "Thanks Biarce, that means a lot to me, I mean, it's not everyday I make friends with people I beat up. So, I heard my dad wanted you to go somewhere for him?"

"Yes, I don't know what he thinks he'll benefit from it, I'm not interested in finding out who I am."

"I am. I'm curious about who you are."

"You are?"

"I'd like to know more about you, that's what friends are about, right?"

"I suppose."

"So… that settles it, now can I ask just one little favor?"

The next morning…

Dr. X looked upon him incredulously, "I'm afraid I cannot accept that request."

"Then I'm afraid I can't do as you ask."

"I'm doing this for my daughter's sake, I don't want her moping about the prospect of losing a friend."

"She doesn't seem to agree with your logic."

"Logic doesn't apply to her."

"It's either she comes, or gain nothing at all."

X gripped his nose bridge in exasperation, "Nothing irks me more than compromise. Very well, I suppose there are results to be had in taking risks."

"I'm certain Bell will do just fine, Dr. X."

"I certainly hope so."

When her father broke the news to her, Bell was ecstatic. She's been on a lot of missions for her father in the past, but this was the first she went out with a friend, aside from Girly, of course. She hoped this would be a good opportunity to bond with someone her age. As for Biarce, he was relieved, to a degree, to be able to go out into the world unrestrained. Together, the two transhuman kids were soaring over the skies above the Atlantic, Bell smiled gleefully, excited by the prospect of working together with someone she could share a kinship with, and Biarce seemed open to the thought of having her as a companion. As for Biarce, he was just drifting through the sky with single-minded focus on the mission that Bell's father had assigned to him, he wasn't really paying attention to Bell zipping around him like a breezing gale.

"Hey Biarce, think fast!"

"Huh?" Biarce didn't have time to react when Bell glomped him from behind playfully. Biarce spun while in the air uncontrollably, shaking Bell off after passing through a cloud. After regaining her composure, Bell looked around trying to find Biarce, who tackled her from behind without warning.

"Caught you." Biarce grabbed a hold of Bell from behind and under her armpits, and Bell giggled happily while soaring through the air with him. Bell extended her arms over her shoulders and flipped Biarce off of her. He wasn't going to give up that easy, and flew to her side and gripped her wrist, Bell responded by grabbing his as well.

They wrestled while flying through the expanse of blue and white all around them. For the time they spent on their way to their target, the two youths decided to savor the simple frivolities afforded by them. Biarce was, for the first time since his release from captivity, actually enjoying himself with his new friend. As for Bell, she hasn't felt this much fun since… well, since a very, very long time, in fact, she hasn't known a time since she enjoyed simple frolicking other than with GIR. Susan was fun hanging out with, but for the most part, he was always so obsessed with getting back at his old enemy, and while he was close to Bell, she had to admit that compared to Biarce, they never tried being that close.

It wouldn't last long, especially when her father was watching everywhere for them, "Not meaning to be rude, but you're nearing your objective and I'd like it if you'd stop acting childish and get your game on."

Bell groaned through her earpiece, "Yes, Daddy."

Biarce and Bell stopped their antics and flew down low, spotting a narrow island on the shifting blue of the sea, with assorted concrete structures standing squat across its surface.

"There it is, Biarce."

"Are you ready for this Bell? For all we know, we could expect more than a few surprises in store for us."

"Hey, as long as we're in this together, we'll be prepared for anything they throw at us."

For all Bell's confidence, Biarce was apprehensive about the situation, he held an ominous presentiment in his heart that what he'll find down there would be slightly more than he could possibly imagine.


	3. Act 3

Biarce and Bell fell in low and hovered close to the water towards the island, the wave movements of the water would keep them hidden from radar detection if the island's defenses possessed it. Moving in closer, they landed by a small stretch of sand isolated from the rest of the compound. After sneaking through a small batch of jungle acres, they approached a fortified military compound teeming with various personnel at the ready to deal with any intruders that came upon them. Bell and Biarce quietly performed superhuman high jumps over the walls and over towards a huge concrete warehouse near the middle of the compound.

Biarce and Bell looked around and over the compound looking for something that would be the best lead for them to find out what it was they were looking for. Of course it didn't take long to notice that perhaps the most notable feature was a single huge dome that only held a single entrance inside, a round lens-shutter type of door that extended from a tunnel that emerged from the side.

"What do you think is in there, Biarce?"

"Only one way to find out, we'll have to move closer and have a better look."

The two kids snuck next to the entrance and waited cautiously for the entrance to give them a brief window of opportunity to slip by without the notice of one of the sentries. Suddenly, the shutter doors opened and a pair of men decked in priestly regalia emerged, talking an enigmatic conversation.

"The tachyon core holding the Seal is much more complex than I thought."

"Indeed, it will take some time before we unlock the Wraithbone matrix that holds it."

"We needn't worry, brother, the Chaplain is already in the midst of deciphering the matrix and soon the field will disperse, and we know he's the only one capable of working the mysteries of the Wraithbone in short order, faster than our own. Any news regarding the Palatine? It is said he would be arriving shortly at dawn."

I'm afraid not, he's been having the Chaplain perform most of his tasks, it would appear something truly important is going on at headquarters. Still, I can only imagine the excitement he must be feeling regarding another step in the plan completed."

None of their conversation made any meaningful sense to either Bell or Biarce, they simply snuck into the dome once they had gone past to parts unknown. Inside, they found a strange series of unusual shimmering flat stones arranged within a white circle expanding across the floor.

"Hey Biarce, what do you think this thing is?"

"I have no idea."

Bell started tapping on the strange stones in front of them, "Hey, they look kinda pretty, what do you think they are?"

"I have no idea," Biarce reached out to touch the mysterious stones, and almost instantly, they shifted further back down the floor, as though pulling back for him, "Whoa."

Bell rushed over to where he was, "What, what did you do?"

"I have no idea," Biarce began making shapes in the air with his fingers and the stones shifted along with him, like they followed his whim, "I think… I can control this thing."

"How did you do that?"

"I have no idea," Biarce lowered his hands and closed his eyes to concentrate; soon some of the stones began to descend in a pattern of stairs leading down into a chamber below. Biarce and Bell proceeded down and towards a huge door to the side.

"Hey, what do you think is through here, Biarce?"

"Only one way to find out," Biarce pressed a switch on the side and together, they entered what appeared to be an elevator leading down a long shaft several miles down under sea-level. The kids hopped on and pulled a switch before heading down to who knows where.

"Hey Biarce, what do you think we'll find down there?"

"I have no idea."

"Are you scared?"

"Not really."

"Nothing scares you?"

"Not as of now."

"That's pretty cool."

"What makes you think that?"

"It means you're really brave, sometimes I wish I were more like you."

"I don't think I'm that brave, I just… I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"There are things about me that I have no idea of, I'm a mystery to myself. When I think about it, it's like I have no purpose for existing." Biarce seemed rather beaten up when she brought that up, nodding his head down looking morose.

Bell placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Hey, Biarce, it's okay, it'll be all right. Look, whatever we find here, I just want to let you know that I want you to be who you want to be. You've always said you wanted to live the way you wanted to, and I'll always be here for you if you feel like you can't find yourself."

Biarce glanced at her and felt a ting of hope with her, "Thank you Bell, you're a good friend."

Upon reaching to the lowest level, the two kids exited through a door to a large subterranean chamber followed by a massive polished wall embedded into the Earth bearing intricate carvings of abstract shapes.

Bell rushed towards the strange edifice and started tapping against it, wondering what in the hell it was. "Hey, Biarce, do you think we can smash through this thing?"

"Bell, I'd prefer we find out more before…" The pounding of tinnitus followed when Bell vaporized the slab guarding them from wherever it was they were going.

"Hey, are you coming? Time's a wasting!"

He sighed, it seemed like butting heads and pounding obstacles into dust was Bell's solution for everything, it goes without saying that some people just aren't interested in the story behind the setting. Biarce followed after he and together they suddenly found themselves in a strange subterranean world with a strange, brown sky looming overhead, with long fang-like stalactites piercing downwards through the canopy of air. Below they found an even more unusual and intriguing sight, from as far as both their normal and peripheral vision could afford: a wide, monochrome necropolis that sprawled on a flat landscape. Biarce wasted no time going airborne over the silent cityscape below.

"What do you think this place is?"

"It's… " Suddenly, Biarce train of thought was interrupted by strange voices in his head, "I… huh?"

"Biarce? What's wrong?"

_By the Fifth Seal they cried, and with arms outstretched before the domain of Heaven they called, "Justice, bring us justice, King of Kings! Give us justice that those who trampled upon your honor be enlightened by your light!"_

"Ugh!" Biarce gripped his head and suddenly fell towards the city in a tumbling heap.

"Biarce! Hang on!"

He continued his wild descent towards the city, his head still throbbing from the voices barraging his thoughts. He seemed to fall for an eternity until he smashed through the roof of one of the buildings and fell unconscious.

A second seemed to go by and Biarce awoke to an unfamiliar interior, he turned to the side and saw GIR giving him that weird stare.

"Are you checking up on me?"

"Maybe baby," he replied, such a random creature he was.

Biarce sat up and saw Bell sitting by a window surveying the outside, it was evident they weren't exactly alone.

"Bell? How long was I out?"

"Well over forty minutes. What happened up there?"

"I… I don't know, I just heard voices in my head for some reason."

"Well, are they pestering you right now?"

"No, my head is clear right now."

"That's good; I was starting to worry for a sec."

"So what's going on? Why are you looking out the window?"

"Come see." Biarce jumped up and peeked out the window. Outside were ranks of the same men that resided in that citadel in the Himalayas, wearing medieval armor and armed with equally archaic weapons. The eerie quiet was suddenly broken by a loud rumbling noise - which caught the two kids' attention - that came from a large hulking object rolling in. A huge heavily armored behemoth, essentially a giant metal-plated box with large treads granting locomotion, rumbled noisily through the quarter. Looking further beyond the horizon, the skyline between the false sky and the sprawling necropolis below was a massive pillar-like structure that sat squat on the ground and extended infinitely through the crust of the earth.

Biarce and Bell hopped silent hurdles over the rooftops towards the strange tower, keeping up with the rumbling landship. After a few leagues or so of monotonous leaps and bounds, they reached the base of the tower. Strewn about in organized rows were more of the iron clad landships serviced by strange and unusual cyborgs, men with blank faces with their legs fused into a treaded platform and multiple robotic appendages sticking all across his torso.

Embedded into the base of the tower was a large aperture door that shifted open, revealing a small procession of more soldiers, far more ornately decorated than the last. Their armor gleamed like sunshine; they wore mantles lined with mink and carried halberds embedded with some devices near the bladed ends, marching in unison surrounding a rather important individual. A whirring noise, like from a helicopter, could be heard, faintly, but growing in volume the longer they waited.

A strange vehicle, like a ship but levitating downwards from on high, carried by an oblong balloon towards a landing pad nearby while lowering a gangplank for the company of men striding towards it. The group of ornate warriors marched onto the gangplank and after boarding, departed quietly into the false sky. Biarce gazed at the strange vehicle as it made its exit; however, it would appear that the VIP escorted on board knew there was more going on than his silence let on. For a seeming moment, Biarce could swear he was suddenly making eye contact with him, and that brief, speechless conversation jabbed through his mind like an iron spike had shot up his skull, causing a sore throbbing pain to cascade in his head.

"Biarce, are you all right? What's going on, your head has been hurting since we got here."

"I'll be fine, Bell, I just… felt a stabbing sensation rock through me for a second."

Bell raised a worried brow, "Well, when this is over, I'm having my dad have a look at you, all right?"

Biarce, Bell and GIR drifted up and above the oblivious crowd of archaic soldiers and proceeded towards a higher level of the tower. They zipped and zagged about looking for any sign of an opening, but Bell, impatient as ever, considered smashing through the tower walls to gain entry.

"Bell, you might set off an alarm or something if you resort to that."

"I can't wait anymore, I don't like waiting, and I'm sure my Dad doesn't like it either." Bell examined the structure of the tower, and spotted one section that looked weak enough to punch through. "Over here, Biarce! I found a weak spot!" Bell rushed in to smash her way through the wall section, however, she was greeted by an unexpected surprise. The wall suddenly came alive, and gripped Bell as though a ravenous mouth consuming a tender prey.

"Ah, Biarce, help!"

GIR chimed in, "I HAVE FURY!"

Biarce dashed towards the section of wall as Bell and GIR sank inside it, he started hammering and punching at the wall Bell and GIR ended up through, "Bell, Bell!"

He threw whatever he could at it, but it wouldn't give way. He gave up and rested against the wall, trying to gather his thoughts together. He was almost considering smashing through the front gate at the bottom when he felt his hand sink into the wall, and he turned his eyes to see his hand had formed a hole of receding cubes, they reformed when he pulled out, only to recede into a hole again when he extended towards the wall. Gaining an idea, Biarce reached into the wall again, and flared his fingers outward, and just with a simple gesture, the wall opened up into a spacious hollow of the tower with asymmetric branching crystal stems scattering whichever way downward towards pitch-black darkness and upwards towards a blinding light.

The darkness below didn't seem like the wisest course of action to partake in, so Biarce proceeded upwards scanning across the area looking for any sign of Bell and GIR.

"Obey me! Obey me, Tiberium!" GIR was waving his arms in a futile attempt to get the crystal to dislodge an unconscious Bell from its surface. Biarce drifted towards them, examining Bell's condition, she wasn't hurt, but the crystal held onto her tight, her body from the waist down was encased in the crystalline material, so was her left hand and most of her right arm, while a collar of the material wrapped around her neck, almost as though she was being choked.

Biarce placed hands on the collar and another near her waist and closed his eyes, concentrating and trying to interact with the crystal to release Bell.

Elsewhere…

Sitting comfortably on a plain and polished silver throne, the stranger guarded by the decked guards gestured with his hands and a disembodied digital screen flashed in front of him, he fiddled with a keyboard and soon, a face of one of the troops popped up.

"Lord Chaplain, may I help you sir?"

"Destroy the tower within the next eight minutes."

"What? But sir, the Seal hasn't even been removed yet."

"Trust me, my child, it will."

The screen closed only to be followed by another screen with a robust man with white, military cut hair and a square jaw appeared.

"Chaplain, how have you been with regards to your progress to the Seal?"

"Very good, sir, in fact, I anticipate that the Seal will be released very soon. What information can you enlighten me with regards to the Marienkind?"

"We have reason to believe he may be there beneath the Atlantic. Has your psionic senses detected anyone out of the ordinary?"

The Chaplain paused for a brief moment to consider, having seen a few uninvited guests some time ago, "No, I'm afraid I haven't felt any unwanted presence within the area."

"Very well, I look forward to seeing you return for next Sunday's sermon."

"I shan't be tardy, my lord."

There was more on the Chaplain's mind, namely the girl and boy he spotted some time ago. He mused to himself, the lad grows up so fast, and already he was with a companion just his age. He turned back towards the tower before the fireworks exploded throughout the mighty edifice.

A few minutes earlier…

Biarce had released Bell from her crystal prison and proceeded upwards, however, it looks like Bell must have had quite a shock since she was largely unconscious, and he ended up carrying her in his arms until she recovered. Until then, he had to navigate the interior of the tower towards the glowing light, GIR was not behind either.

Hopping from one branch to another, GIR managed to stay in step of Biarce, "Nin, nin, nin!"

Biarce penetrated the barrier of light and emerged on the edge of a circle crystal slab almost the diameter of the tower. At the center was a trunk of crystal that shot up some hundred feet upwards before terminating into a mass of mineral tendrils again.

Lodged in the center of the trunk was a huge sphere of sapphire blue, and inside was a floating medallion of an autumn-bronze shade, etched with a strange glyph.

"Mm… mm… what's up?"

"Bell, you're awake."

"I… hey!" Bell jumped out and away from Biarce's arms, "What's the big idea? Carrying me like I'm… I'm…"

Biarce responded in his normal deadpan response, "You're what?"

"I'm…" Bell was blushing across the cheek, "…nothing."

Biarce walked up towards the strange sphere, which GIR already began chipping away at (albeit in vain) with a mattock shouting "Rally-ho!"

Biarce observed the strange token embedded within the sphere, pondering to himself what in the world it could possibly be.

"Hey Biarce, what's that pretty little trinket inside?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're the smart one."

"What makes you think that?"

"I dunno, you seem pretty smart to me."

"Sure…"

Biarce ran his hand across the surface of the sphere, suddenly, the token inside shifted ever-so-slightly towards him.

"Hey, did you see that? It moved!" Bell started fiddling her hands around the sphere, but it didn't move for her, "Hey, what gives?"

She started waving her arms wildly, calling out to the strange token in the sphere. "Hey! HEY! Come on out little guy!"

"Easy Bell, I'll get it out for us." Biarce reached out, and with a bit of focus, slowly brought the token towards him from its containment.

Bell sat off on the side of the disk while Biarce tried pulling the token out on his own. Her casual idling was disturbed when a faint rumbling resonated within her ears.

"Hey, what's that noise?"

As if to answer her question, a much more powerful rumbling erupted beneath them and Bell was thrown off her feet.

"Biarce, this place is blowing up!"

"I know Bell, come on!" He grabbed her and as she held onto Girly and they flew off as the platform beneath them fell down the shaft of the tower into a shattering whirlwind of flame.

The three smashed through the edifice and into the outside. After regaining their bearing, Biarce, Bell and GIR watched as a part of the tower crumbled and crashed like thunder towards the city below.

Staring long and hard in a thousand-yard gaze, it ended when a lightning fast shadow emerged from the falling rubble and collided with the two super-powered kids, crashing into one of the structures down below.

Bell pulled herself out of the rubble, rubbing her sore temples from the impact. She scanned her immediate environs, and Biarce didn't appear to be anywhere in sight. She didn't have time to look for him when the soldiers bore down on her with their strange weapons. Bell dashed away from them with Girly in tow before they could get to her.

Their disparate attacks gave way to a huge, shimmering ball of crackling light that arced across the sky towards her. It exploded in a cascade of super-heated light behind her, and Bell jumped out of the way and into a nearby trench to hide.

She continued running with GIR, jumping over assorted obstacles while a rain of missiles continued to pour down on her position, jumping up to the roof of a nearby structure only to be cut off by a huge, imposing robot shaped like a giant eagle that screeched an otherworldly shriek, it lunged towards her with its enormous, adamantine beak. Bell jumped out of the way a little too late and one of her legs was caught in its beak.

"Gaah! Let me go!"

That was when GIR sprang into action.

"Hostile intruding upon VIP, initiating self-defense mode."

GIR's robot head popped open and a spiked Morningstar mace linked to a chain emerged, he swung it around and, through some unknown force of highly advanced science, it expanded until it was the size of a car, then he threw the weight of the blunt weapon towards the robot, smashing the beak and freeing Bell.

Bell responded by giving the eagle a strong jab that threw the metal monster back. She grabbed for GIR and proceeded to leap towards the robot eagle.

As soon as she was in proximity, Bell jumped towards the joint that connected the wing and the main body and gave it a good kick with her heel, splitting its limb in twain and knocking it out for a moment. It recovered and grabbed Bell by its talons, and then threw her against the top of a nearby monolith, punching a sizeable crater on its side.

Bell rubbed her pained temples and looked out towards the horizon. The large robot opened a few pods on its remaining wing and proceeded to fire against Bell. With quick precision, Bell leaped and hopped over each missile and finally reached the eagle again, punching through the head and right into its mechanical brain. She continued by running at the speed of sound across the back of the monstrosity, splitting the beast in half once she reached the bottom.

Bell continued running for the exit of this place, hoping that Biarce managed to make it out okay as well, she was worried about him, but she was more worried about herself and GIR.

After a few leagues of quickly moving through the edifices of the necropolis, she could vaguely make out the way she came in, escape was within her grasp.

She approached a clearing within reach to the exit, and she was almost home-free, at least she would have were it not for a stranger standing in her way.

He was a tall, lithe stranger who looked to be in his late 30s, he wore a long leather overcoat, a tall wide-brimmed hat and armed with assorted weaponry that wouldn't look too foreign on a Van Helsing-type vampire hunter.

"Hey, old man, get out of my way, you don't want to get hurt now."

The stranger didn't flinch, he just pulled out his archaic rifle and popped a shot towards Bell, but instead of a bullet, out flew a massive ball of swirling energy that flew straight towards her, Bell shifted sideways and just barely managed to avoid the shot.

There was no time to react when the old man was upon her in a flash, drawing a rapier that hummed with an ethereal hum. Bell raised her arms in a futile attempt to divert his attack.

Just as his lethal blow was about to make contact, Biarce came charging out from the nearby structures and shoulder-tackled the stranger before he could hit her.

"Biarce!"

He dusted himself, "Did you wait long?"

"Not long enough," she crossed her arms and tried to look self-important, "I coulda handled him myself."

"Sure you could…"

The stranger fired off another blast from his rifle at the super-powered children, releasing another sphere of power aimed for them.

Biarce and Bell braced themselves for impact.

Bell glanced at him, "Talk later?"

He nodded, "Why not?"


End file.
